Method of and apparatus for delivering crude pine gum



b- 7, 1933. c. c. GILLICAN 1,896,616

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR DELIVERING. CRUDE PINE GUM I FiledSept. 20, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet l V/Al Feb. 7, v1933.

C. C. GlL LlCAN METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR DELIVERING CRUDE PINE GUM Filed Sept. 20, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 cold for some time.

Patented Feb. 1, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CHARLES C. GILLICAN, OP BRUNSWICK, ABSIGNOE TO GILLICAN-CHIPLEY COMPANY, INC BRUNSWICK, GEORGIA, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE, AND HERCULES POW-DEB COMPANY, INC, 0! WILHINGTON, DELAWARE, A CORPORATION 01' DELAWARE NETEOD 0] AND APPARATUS FOR DELIVERING CRUDE PINE GUI Application fled September 0, 1930. Serial Io. 483,870.

This invention relates to a method'of and apparatus for delivery crude pine gum and like resinousliquid materials. Such materials are very viscous, and may or do solidify after they have been stored or placed in the Other such substances are oils, fats, greases, resins, tars, rosin and rosin size. The improvement deals with the treatment of such materials, particularly crude pine gum, to efiiciently convey the same and discharge them from containers in which they are stored or transported in the cold.

This invention is thought to constitute a marked improvement over prior methods of transportin crude pin gum andlike viscous liquids. It as been the practice heretofore to move crude pine gum in barrels only. This has necessitated higher freight charges since each empty barrel weighs 130 pounds, and the freight rate on the return containers is greater than that of the crude gum. Therefore, by shipping the gum in tank cars, freight on the net gum only is paid, and no charge is made for the return of the car. Therefore, this means in our industry a saving of freight by use .of tank cars of approximately one-half of the cost of shipment in barrels. The crude gum always contains a certain amount of chips, dirt, leaves and solid gum which must be thoroughly melted in order to remove same from the tank, and probably be filtered, which is the next plant operation.

Therefore, this invention deals particularly with procedure and apparatus used in connection with shipping this type of material, including transporting and delivering the same. This procedure comprises introducing the material in liquid form into a railway tank car, shipping the car to a distant destination, applying a source of steam or other heating medium to the car from without, and causing the heating medium to circulate through the material to thoroughly heat it, simultaneously applying a source of power from without the car to cause a stirring or agitation of the material, and then discharging the material-from the car.

Heretofore other materials have been handled in railway tank cars, and the procedure if such materials were locally over eate has been to equip the cars on theinside of the tanks with heating coils, especially near the shell along the bottom, in order to make more fluid the contents of the cars before discharging. This procedure is slow however, and also very inefiicient and also results in local overheating thereby often degrading the products. This degrading effect would be produced very easily in the case of certain cottonseed oil products, rosin, and ine m,

In the practice of the present invention a remarkable saving in time and steam is accomplished and any degrading or decomposition of the product is prevented, owin to the fact that a very quick and efiicient me ting of the material can be made to take place.

The addition of the agitator in the present invention to the arrangement of a tank car equipped with a heating coil produces a stirring and mixing simultaneously with the heating and this combined action renders the material extremely fluid and eas to handle.

The invention in its preferred orm will be best understood if reference is made to the accompanying drawings which will now be described in detail.

In the drawings Figure 1 represents a longitudinal sectional elevation of a railway tank car suitable for transporting and delivering resinous liquids such as crude pine and the like, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 2 is a transverse sectional cylindrical shell having ends 2 of usual construction, said tank being mounted on an underframe 3 carried upon car trucks 4. This tank 1 is provided with a dome 5 having a cover which is adapted to be tightly closed, there being in the dome a filling opening 6, through which access may be had to the interior of the tank by a person whenever necessary. In approximately the center of the tank 1 there is located in the lowermost part thereof a valve 7 of any approved design, the one shown in the drawing being of the circular-disc type having its periphery bevelled to engage a corresponding seat 8, said valve 7 controlling the discharge from the tank by discharge spout 9. This charge spout is screw-threaded on its exterior and is normally closed by cap 10 correspondingly screw-threaded on its interior for engagement with the spout 9. The valve 7 is actuated by the valve rod 11 divided at 12 to straddle a shaft 13 later to be described, and urged upwardly by spring 14 against cam 15 having a handle extension for operating the cam manually when the dome cover is opened.

In the lower portion of tank 1 and extending longitudinally thereof is located a spiral agitator composed of shaft 13, right-hand flights 16 on the portion of the shaft that is located on one-half the tank and left-hand flights 16 on the portion of the shaft which is located in the other half of the tank the right and left-hand flights having thrusts in opposite directions toward the respective ends of the tank away from the central ortion thereof. Extending transversely of t e tank are three horizontal transverse angle irons, one near the center of the tank, and the other two near either end of the tank. These angle irons are anchored to the walls of the tank b brackets or by any other suitable means. Fitch of these horizontal angle irons supports at its center a bearin secured thereto by any suitable method, the arin near the center of the tank bein designa as 17 and those near the ends 0 the tank beingdesignated as 18. It is through these bearings that-the shaft 13 passes, and by means of the angle irons it receives its su port. To each of these angle irons is likewise attached a support, having a flat top and otherwise bein of an inverted U-shaped e, the ends 0 v the U being secured by riveting, bolting'or the like to the angle iron.

The support near the center of the tank is designated as 17 and those near the ends are designated as 18. Across these supports rests a pipe later to be described.

Likewise, in the lower portion of the tank, and extending lengthwise therein, is located a tubular heating element consisting, in the embodiment illustrated of an assembly of horizontally disposed heating pipes including pipes 21, 21, 23, 23 and 25, the pipes extending nearly to the ends of the tank, and all except pipe member 25 being spaced throughout their lengths equi-distant from the bottom of the tank so that the assembly of pipes in cross-section conforms to the curvature of the bottom of the tank. Transverse arcuate supports 22 at intervals along the tank in spaced relationship to and in conformity with the tank bottom, maintain the equi-distant spacing of the pipes from the tank bottom. Each of the supports 22 has its ends bent first downwardly, then outwardly,

into bracket portions 22, by the outward portions of which it is securedto the bottom of the tank, the downwardly bent portions bein equal in length so as to secure the desire spaced relationship to the bottom of the tank referred to above. The assembly of pipes includes an initial entry pipe 21 provided with a screw-threaded inlet nipple 27, which communicates with the exterior at a point slightly to the right of discharge spout 9 (looking at Fig. 1) and in longitudinal alinement with the spout, and extends upwardly a short distance equal to the height of arcuate supports 22. From the upper end of nipple 27, pipe 21 leads to a point adjacent the nearest end of the tank which is the end in which stufiing-box 19 is located. At this point the pipe connects, by means of a short upwardly and outwardly extending tubular connection, with the next pipe in the assembly which extends longitudinally in the opposite direction from pipe 21, to a point adjacent the opposite end of the tank. From this point another tubular connection communicates with the nextpipe, and the pipes extend sequentially, in op osite directions, communicating by short tu ular connections, till pipe 23, the highest in the equispaced group on one side of the tank, communicates by a downwardly and inwardly extending tubular connection, with the pipe next lowest to pipe 21 located on the opposite side of the tank. This pipe and the rest of the pipes on this side of the tank extend likewise sequentially in op osite directions communicating by short tuhular connections till pipe 23, the highest in this side terminates in one end of an upwardly extending tubular connec tion 24 communicating at its other end with an extreme uppermost pipe 25 which extends horizontally longitudinally above the spiral agitator, being supported in this position b supports 17, 18. Near the end of the tank opposite from that in which stufling-box 19 is located this uppermost pipe 25 terminates in a downwardly-extending tubular connection 26 which in turn communicates with final outlet pipe 21" which extends longitudinally in substantial alinement with pipe 21 to a point-slightly to the left of discharge spout 9 (looking at Fig. 1), and from there communicates with the exterior by means of downwardly extending outlet nipple 28 which projects outwardly beyond the shell of the tank and is screw-threaded to receive a hose connection. To the inlet nipple a source of steam or other heating medium may be coupled from without the car and the outlet nipple may be coupled to a suitable connection leading to the source of heating medium, whereby a cyclic circulation of the heating medium may be induced throughout the pipes. A unitary coil might be employed instead of the set of pipes shown. It has been discovered that the indirect heat transfer method through a closed heating element is the most satisfactory but it is to be understood that the present invention is not necessarily limited to this particular manner of applying heat. In the drawings in Figure 1 only one row of'the lower tubes has been shown in dotted lines but in Figure 2 the arrangement of the several rows is clearly shown.'

In the preferred arrangement the steam coil or each pipe is 2 in diameter and the horizontal pipe sections or sections of coil are located approximately 4" from the shell of the tank and are spaced'6 apart. Likewise in the preferred form of the invention, the agitator has a diameter of 2 and is placed so that the circumference of the circle described by the flights is 8 from the bottom of the shell of the tank. The superior steam pipe, above the agitator, runs parrallel to the agitator and within 2 of the circumference described by the flights of the agitator and this pipe, or coil section, if a coil isemployed, is also 2" in diameter. Although a particular type of agitator has been described in this example, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to any specific type of agitator, various types of helical, helicoid, etc., or paddle types of agitators or screw types on horizontal or vertical axes, being capable of use.

In carrying out the present invention, the crude pine gum or other viscous liquid to be transported and delivered is poured into the railway tank car through the filling opening 6 in a liquid condition, and the tank car is The contents of the tank, which became very viscous and solid or nearly so in the cold during transportation over the rails are thus heated, and different portions thereof are caused to circulate in opposite directions toward the ends of the tank and back to the center of the tank, the portions thus mingling with one another and becoming thoroughly mixed. After the contents become very fluid the operator removes the cover of the dome 5 and raises the handle on cam 15, causing the discharge valve to be raised from its seat, allowing the liquid contents to be discharged into suitable receptacles.

The power motor for operating the agitator may or may not be installed on the tank. It is preferably entirely .separate from the car. The source of steam likewise is intended, to be entirely separate from the train source of steam in a preferred embodiment of the invention, although if desired suitable connections could be made to the boiler of the locomotive. 9

I claim v 1. An apparatus for handling viscous liquids comprising a tank car equipped on its interior with a mechanical agitator and a hollow imperforate heating element extending longitudinally of the tank car within the same and below and above said mechanical agitator, said heating element and said mechanical agitator being located in the bottom portion of the tank car.

2. A process of delivering crude pine gum and like resinous liquids which are viscous and tend to solidify in the cold, comprising conveying the material in a tank car and heating it by means of a heating medium supplied mainly to the lower portions thereof from without the car in indirect heat transfer relationship to the material in a path surrounded by the material, while mechanically agitating the material in a region directly above the region of application of said heatlng medium, a small portion of said heating medium being supplied to' the material above the region of mechanical agitation.

3. An apparatus for handling viscous liquids comprising a tank car equipped in its interior with a mechanical agitator and a heating element extending longitudinally of the tank car within the same and below and above said mechanical agitator, said heating element and said mechanical agitator being located in the bottom portion of the tank car.

4. An apparatus for handling viscous liquids comprising a tank car equipped on its interior with a mechanical agitator and with a heating element comprisin longitudinal sections extending sequential y in opposite directions from one end of the tank car to the other, one of said sections lying above. said mechanical a 'tator, and the remainder of said sections lylng below said mechanical agitator.

5. An apparatus for handling viscous liquids comprising a tank car equipped in its interior with a mechanical agitator disposed longitudinally thereof, the longitudinal axis of said agitator being disposed below the longitudinal axis of said car, anda heating element interposed between the bottom wall of the car and the agitator.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

CHARLES C. GILLICAN. 

